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Dr. Siavash Ahrar joined the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Department of Biomedical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2020. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine, in 2015, worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Irvine Department of Physics from 2015-17 and as a Science and Engineering Education Fellow (SEEF) with the Stanford University Department of Bioengineering from 2017-20. His work as a SEEF focused on realizing an active, effective, inclusive, and accessible curriculum for the bioengineering discipline.

Dr. Ahrar’s research focuses on developing automation tools and their application to bioengineering. These tools include mili and microfluidics and simple autonomous machines. During his graduate studies, he developed autonomous microfluidics (i.e., pneumatic computers) that could lead to the independent operation of laboratory tools and point of care diagnostics. His lab will extend the application of these tools to synthetic biology. Added to his laboratory research, Dr. Ahrar seeks to continue his efforts in studying and developing an active and accessible STEM education for all learners.